Phannie

Photo taken at Winchester Bay, Oregon

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Las Vegas to The Grand Canyon

At Grand Canyon Railroad RV Park, Williams, Arizona...

We decided to stop in Las Vegas on our way to the Grand Canyon, knowing the temperature there would be even hotter than St. George, but we scored a Passport America discount at the Oasis RV Park and thought we might see a couple of shows. It was every bit as hot there as we thought it would be, but thank goodness for Phannie's new bedroom a/c! It took all three a/cs running to keep cool, but that's why we have them, isn't it?We went to see 'Vegas,' a musical variety show with music from the 70s, 80s and 90s, and it was just okay. It was pretty well done, but we didn't know a lot of the tunes. It is a bit unsettling that the 'oldies' shows in Las Vegas no longer include music from the 50s and 60s, which are the 'oldies' we know. My guess is that our crowd is largely confined to assisted living and nursing homes, and their Wal-Mart bus won't take them all the way to Vegas! I must say that I'm a little conflicted about our good fortune as far as our health goes; so many of our peers do have health issues that are commonly a part of getting older, and we feel extraordinarily blessed to be out here roaming the country in a motorhome while their world is steadily shrinking. I think that's a pretty good reason not to wait too long to do the things you've worked for and dreamed about.The other show we saw was Donnie and Marie. Now that would be full of oldies, we thought! Well, they did include a few of their saccharine hits from the past, but the emphasis was clearly on attracting a younger crowd with insanely loud amplification and hard rock histrionics. This was not money well spent for us; it was very disappointing. We have arrived at the conclusion that the music we like is largely extinct--you know, the kind with a melody you can hum and lyrics that are meaningful and decipherable above the noise? There are perhaps vestiges of this kind of music still around in Branson, but who knows how long that will last after our generation is gone? Seems like we're going full circle back to where we began beating on logs and chanting some kind of mystical nonsense and calling that music. Give me a break.Our primo find in Las Vegas was one of the best Thai restaurants ever. Lotus of Siam was so good that it made our stop in Las Vegas completely worthwhile. It's in a very nondescript location that belies the very large and well appointed restaurant inside, and everything we had was just superb. We ate there twice, and it definitely goes on our list of favorite restaurants linked on this blog.We had an uneventful trip to Williams, Arizona, the gateway to the Grand Canyon, except for the bone-jarring condition of I-40 east of Kingman. I think Trump is right about our infrastructure crumbling; we had to move Phannie over to the passing lane for quite a distance to keep the fillings from falling out of our teeth.We've been in Williams a few days, again scoring a Passport America discount at this very nice RV park. The only problem with it is the BNSF railroad track nearby but, fortunately, there are very few trains per day that go by with their horns blaring.We've also failed to find a restaurant in Williams that is worth mentioning. Friends Janice and Dave are showing up soon, and we're going to have to break the bad news to them. Looks like Flagstaff will be a better bet for eating out.We made a trip to the canyon today because the weather was just perfect for taking some photos. Here are a few that I thought turned out pretty well:

We had a visit by some Indian dancers.

The next one is my favorite, caught just moments before sunset:

The weather here has been so nice, with temperatures mostly in the 70s and low 80s. What a difference after St. George and Las Vegas!I'll have some more photos to share in the next post, so stay tuned!

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.

I had rather own little and see the world than to own the whole world and see little of it.

22 comments:

We went to Vegas a ew years ago and can say that we have been there. The Grand Canyon we enjoyed and would like to go back again someday. Nothing quite like enjoying this amazing lifestyle, juts keep on having too much fun.

We haven't tried all the restaurants here but, so far, they've pretty well been duds. We'll post about it if we find one to recommend. We did find a good steak house in Tusayan, just outside the GCNP. It's called 'Big E."

Sure hope that was not the Motown Variety show I have tickets for. We are going for the Cirque Du Soleil O show and know it will be great. It will be a hotel buffet or two and one nice meal at a steak place we like. Have tickets for Atomic museum and something in France, a magic show, then another great acrobatic ride in a Extra 330 with SCA. That should take up all our time. It should be a lot cooler the last week of Oct. Great pics of the GC, thanks for showing them. I know what you mean about mobility, my brother at age 73 is in a wheelchair now and quite a few of my older past coworkers are homebound in their 70's. It appears genetics and diet and activity in that order account for mobility in later life. I enjoyed your Walmart bus line. Keep up the travels and stay active.

No, it would have been better to do the MoTown, I'm sure. We like good shows, but there are so few of them. Tough to know what's best; I can't always rely on the reviews. And yes, I firmly believe that staying 'out there' and active helps keep some of the maladies away. It least that's what I'm counting on!

Yes, Mike the only place for 40's and 50's music is Branson and the Sirus X-M radio. Planning our 50HS reunion and I have captured plenty of 60' - 1968 music of the Day. Good luck with Flagstaff, I have heard they don't like RV' s in that town.

I suppose each generation is perplexed by the music of the one that follows, but what passes for music today is totally beyond my comprehension. I just need to get over it and stay as far away as possible, I guess. Yes, Flagstaff is not really RV friendly. They have a couple of RV parks that are pretty expensive, and they really don't want you driving or parking in town. So we are staying in Williams where we are a bit more appreciated. I guess Flagstaff doesn't need our money.

Loved the pics, especially the last one! Now I have one for you. listen to the train horn. If they are crossing a highway intersection, they should blow 2 longs, a short, then 1 long. Most generally do. This for the letter "Q" It means "Here comes the Queen" (better get the heck out of the way!). Now listening for this will get you! Enloy

Another ne about trains. Did you know they have tires? The rims are softer steel and the tires are harder steel because they run on the rails. They are put together using the hot cold process. One is cooled the other is heated, pressed together and allowed to cool. Young can't see it where they join most of the time. A close examination.is necessary. Learned the from a history book .. The Arms of Krupp. Suppliers of the German war machine since the 1600's. Very interesting book.

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Sandy

Mike

About Phannie and Mae - And Us

Mike retired as an airline pilot and manager in 1996 and retired again from a subsequent stint as a manager with the Federal Aviation Administration in 2013. Sandy is a retired public schoolteacher of gifted and talented children. This blog will take you from the the excitement and discoveries of our very first RV trip through the trials and tribulations of downsizing our lifestyle and grappling with the onrush of life's sunset years and our emergence, hopefully, with our dreams and our sanity intact. We hope you enjoy the journey with us. Phannie and Mae? We have always named our vehicles, I guess because we get attached to them. Our Phaeton Motorhome is Phannie, and our Honda CR-V toad is Mae. Phannie...Mae, like the giant federally sponsored mortgage corporation, Fannie Mae. Get it? Okay, maybe you don't; it is kinda silly.